In workshops, coaching sessions and in conversation with clients I will often challenge people to tell stories.

- What’s the story behind those numbers?

- How did you help that client?

- What changed when you did that?

- What was the solution you found to that problem?

- Why did you invest in that business?

- How did the team feel after you did that?

These are all questions I have asked this week to prompt people to explain why they have done something and why it matters to their audience.

The problem is that you might fall into the trap of assuming that, just because you only have 5 minutes to speak, there is no time to tell a story.

If challenged in this way, my answer always comes in two parts:

1. If you have finite time to connect with your audience, the one thing you simply must do is tell a story

2. A story does not have to be long

We are raised on simple stories based around a

problem – solution - benefit

structure.

And from our earliest age we are also told stories with a

beginning - a middle - and an end.

I am seeing both of these in the books my 4 year-old son is using as he learns to read.

Either of these simple structures will help you tell a story in a short, succinct way.

The Gettysburg address - one of the most famous and influential speeches in history - was only 271 words long and followed the basic structure of problem-solution-benefit.

President Lincoln delivered in about two minutes.

It is possible to tell even shorter stories that still capture the imagination.

Perhaps the most famous – attributed to Ernest Hemingway – is

“For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.”

In just six words there is a basic structure.

A beginning – a middle – and an end.

In just six words, your imagination is captured.

As long as a story connects by creating an emotional response in your audience it can be as short as you want it to be.

As short as you need it to be.

And means you will always have time to tell a story.